ADB Vice President for East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Scott Morris; ADB New Country Director Andrew Jeffries; ADB Deputy Director General Pavit Ramachandran; DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan; fellow workers in government: good morning.

Thank you for joining us here today.

Since last year, the DOF has been inspecting the progress of our big-ticket ODA infrastructure projects.

For our goal is to make sure that every peso of our taxpayers—and every peso entrusted to us by our partners—is spent efficiently and delivers benefits to our people as fast as possible.

And more than site inspections, every time we go out and see the projects by ourselves is a renewed affirmation of a vision we all share: a Philippines that connects our people better and creates more opportunities for them.

Dahil sa bawat kilometro ng riles, tulay o kalsada na natatapos ay isang kilometrong palapit sa mas magandang kinabukasan para sa bawat Pilipino.

And this is possible because we have partners who believe in our future as much as we do.

The Malolos–Clark Railway Project, which is part of the bigger North–South Commuter Railway System, is living proof of this belief and partnership at work.

To date, the NSCR System is the ADB’s single biggest project—not only in the Philippines, but in the entire Asia-Pacific region. That scale alone speaks volumes of the trust and confidence the ADB has in our country and in the Filipino people’s future.

And even before the first train in the MCRP runs, this project is already fueling our economy, as over 10,000 direct jobs have been created during construction.

And once completed, this 52.65-kilometer link between Malolos, Bulacan, and Clark, Pampanga, will return something priceless to our people—their time.

Mula dalawa hanggang tatlong oras na byahe sa bus galing sa Malolos papunta sa Clark, magiging isang oras na lang. At ang natipid na panahon ay dagdag na oras para sa kanilang pamilya, trabaho, at pangarap.

This railway will also strengthen our international gateways and ease the strain on our major airports by providing a direct connection to Clark International Airport.

Taken as a whole, the NSCR System project will carry 800,000 passengers per day on full operations and generate 350,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs for Filipinos.

This project is nothing less than a genuine economic transformation.

It is the backbone of the Luzon Economic Corridor, accelerating trade and investment, not just in big cities, but across the growth centers in between. This will be one of our main vehicles to lift more Filipinos out of poverty.

Dahil kapag may umuusad na tren, uusad din ang kabuhayan at oportunidad para sa mga Pilipino mula sa pinaka-maliit na komunidad hanggang sa buong bansa.

So, on behalf of the Filipino people, let me thank the ADB for its continued trust and support.

Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s leadership, you can be assured that we will safeguard your trust with accountability and good governance.

The creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure alone is our guarantee—our long-term solution—to ensure that every project we build today will endure, be protected, and delivered for generations to come. This is proof of how serious the President is in protecting all our investments.

So to everyone who has worked tirelessly on this project, and to our partners who continue to stand with us: maraming maraming salamat po.

Mabuhay po kayong lahat at mabuhay ang Bagong Pilipinas!